Bottle holder



Jan. 14, 1964 J. HERER 3,117,759

BOTTLE HOLDER Filed Feb. 28, 1962 s Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR. Jack #2rer w LQQ. a

Jan. 14, 1964 J. HERER 3,

BOTTLE HOLDER Filed Feb. 28, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 JNVEN TOR.

/ack flarer BY Jan. 14, 1964 J. HERER 3,

BOTTLE HOLDER Filed Feb.' 28, 1962 s Sheets-Sheet 3 f 2" INVENTOR.

' Jzzcx Her er QZZZQLQQUL United States Patent BOTTLE HOLDER Jack Herer,Charlottesville, Va., assignor of 51.375 percent to Charles F. Sargent;40.375 percent to Jack Herer; 5.060 percent to Joseph J. DiFiore; 1.500percent to Lloyd T Smith, Jr.; 1.250 percent to Battle, Neal, Harris,Minor and Williams (a partnership), and

.500 percent to Paul MI. Hammalrer Filed Feb. 28, 1962, Ser. No. 176,3346 Claims. (Cl. 24$I02) The present invention relates to a bottle holderand it consists in the combinations, constructions and arrangements ofparts herein described and claimed.

Generally there is provided a bottle holder particularly adapted to theholding of a babys feeding bottle in operative position for feeding. Thedevice generally comprises a body encompassing base formed of a moldableplastic material which is yieldable at normal temperatures and which, inone form of the invention, partially encircles the babys chest while, inanother form of the invention extends from the chest over the shouldersand downwardly upon the back of the baby. Means afilxed to the basemember are provided for holding a bottle at the proper angle for feedingwhen the baby or other person to whom the device may be attached is in aprone or horizontal position. The bottle supporting means is of suchcharacter that it permits the same to swivel with relation to the basewhereby movement of the babys head will not act to disengage the bottlefrom the babys mouth. Novel means are also provided for adjusting theangular relation of the bottle holding means with reference to the baseboth angularly and vertically. The device is such that the baby or otherperson to whom the device is attached may move about, even to extremeside positions, without disengaging the device from its body and is offurther nature that it will cause no discomfort while being worn.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a device of thecharacter set forth which is simple in construction, inexpensive tomanufacture and yet effective and efficient in use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the characterset forth which is formed of a minimum number of parts.

Still another object of the invention is to provide, in a device of thecharacter set forth, a novel base member forming a part of theinvention.

A still further object of the invention is to provide, in a device ofthe character set forth, a novel bottle holder swivelly connected to anovel base member, both said holder and said base member forming partsof the invention.

Other and further objects of the invention will become apparent from areading of the following specification taken in conjunction with thedrawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of an embodiment of the invention,

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken substantiallyalong line 2-2 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 but illustratin g a modificationthereof,

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the deviceillustrated in FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view tanen substantiallyalong line 55 of FIGURE 4,

FIGURE 6 is a front elevational view of a modified form the inventionmay assume,

FIGURE 7 is a top plan view of a modified base member,

FIGURE 8 is a vertical sectional view of FIGURE 7,

Patented Jan. 14, 1954 "ice FIGURE 9 is a side elevational view, partlyin section, illustrating another form the invention may assume,

FIGURE 10 is a front elevational view of the device shown in FIGURE 9,

FIGURE 11 is a fragmentary elevational view, partly in section,illustrating a further modification of the invention, and

FIGURE 12 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a still further formthe invention may assume.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, there is shown therein, inFIGURES 1 to 5, inclusive, one form of the invention in which there isprovided a chest-encompassing base member 1% adapted to encompass thefront, sides and a portion of the back of the wearer and formed of amoldable plastic which is yieldable at normal temperatures and which isnon-toxic, one such material being Royalite R.L. 20, manufactured byUnited States Rubber Company.

Affixed centrally upon the base member 10 by means of a snap fastener 11is a V-shaped bracket generally in dicated at 12, the lower arm 13extending horizontally and carrying one of the snap fastener portions 11and the other arm 14 of which extends angularly upwardly.

Mounted longitudinally upon the arm 14 is a cylindrical bottle support15 which is provided with a series of circumferentially spacedlongitudinally extending corrugations 16.

In a modified form of the invention shown in FIG- URE 3, there is showna bottle support member 15a which is completely cylindrical but split,as indicated at Ma.

In the operation of this form of the invention shown in FIGURES 1 to 55,inclusive, it will be seen that the base member '10 may be placed aboutthe upper portion of the torso of a child or other person and that beingyieldable in nature, it will act to firmly grasp the body of the userand remain in position regardless of the movement of the body of theuser from side to side or in any other direction. The bracket 12 and itsattached bottle holder 15 or 15a may then be mounted upon the base 10 bymeans of the snap fastener member which will permit the bracket and itsattached holder to move about the snap fastener member for a full 360.The bottle may be placed in the holder 15 and it will be seen that thecorrugations will act to hold the bottle therein by frictional means. Inthe event that the holder 15a is used, it will be apparent that the factthat it is in the form of a split cylinder will again act to yieldablyengage the bottle and hold the same by friction. Likewise it will beapparent that the infant or other person who is to be fed with thebottle will need no other means for holding the bottle in position andthat the infant or the like may feed from the bottle utilizing the usualnipple (not shown).

In the case of a baby, it will also be apparent that should the babymove his head from side to side, the bottle will remain engaged in thebabys mouth due to the fact that the member 12, the bottle holder andthe bottle will move pivotally upon the base lildue to the action of thesnap fastener member 11. Thus it will be seen that when once placed inposition upon a babys body in the manner above set forth, it will act tohold the bottle in position without further necessity for supervisionand that even if the baby should move about, the bottle will remain inproper position for feeding at all times. Again, it is pointed out thatonce the device is properly positioned upon a babys body, that shouldthe nipple of the feeding bottle become disengaged from the babys mouth,since it is in a position where the natural movement of the babys handsin an arc toward its mouth will, through no mental effort of the baby,be brought back into proper position for feeding.

It should be understood that in all cases where a baby ,feeding.

is mentioned that the device is equally proficient in feeding otherpersons who are unable to use their arms or where such persons use oftheir arms is inadvisable for any reason whatsoever.

In the form of the invention illustrated in FIGURE 6, there is centrallyattached to the base 1% a Y-shaped support 24 the vertical member ofwhich is provided with a head 21 over which a protective coating 22 isprovided. In this form of the invention it will be apparent that thebase member may be placed upon the users body in the manner abovedescribed and that the upper arms of the member 24 may act as a supportfor a feeding bottle 21a.

In FIGURES 7 and 8 there is shown an alternative form of base member. Inthis case there is provided a base member of flat material of the typeheretofore described with regard to the base member -10 and having avertically extending chest-encompassing portion 3t} and a pair ofinverted U-shaped shoulder-encompassing members 31 formed integrallywith the upper edge thereof. A shaft 32 is affixed centrally in themember 3% and is adapted to have attached to its outer extremity any ofthe various bottle supporting members set forth in this application.

In this form of the invention, it will be apparent that the base member39 is adapted to bear against the chest of the user while being held inposition by the shoulder members 31 which extend over the shoulders ofthe user is contiguous at its lower end to the base 16 and contiguous atits upper end to the holder 42.

In the operation of this last-mentioned form of the invention, it willbe apparent that the base is mounted in the manner heretofore describedan that the feeding bottle indicated in dotted lines at in FIGURE 9 maythen be placed within the holder 42, the liner 43 acting to frictionallymaintain the bottle within the holder. The user of the device may thenmanually move the bottle 45 together'with the holder 42 downwardly tothe position indicated in dotted lines at 46 in FIGURE 9 and it will beapparent that the ball 44 will act as a rest or stop member againstfurther downward movement while at the same time maintaining the bottlein the proper position for It will also be apparent that the bottletogether with the holder 42 may move in an arc of 360 thereby takingcare of any movements of the infants head with respect to the remainderof its body during such feeding.

In FIGURE 11, a shaft 59 extends centrally upwardly from the base It anda hollow socket member 51 is connected to the upper end thereof by meansof a universal joint 52. A stub shaft 53 extends telescopicallydownwardly into the socket 51 andmay be held in selected positionsthereon by means of a set screw 54. A bottle holder such as hereinabovedescribed may be attached to the upper end of the stub shaft 53.

e In this form of the invention, it will be apparent that minuteadjustments of the bottle holder may be made not only angularly withrespect to'the base member 1% but also vertically by means of the stubshaft, socket member and set screw.

In FIGURE 12, a simplified form of the invention is shown wherein thereis centrally connected to the base member 10 a vertical standard 60which is preferably and as shown cylindrical in cross sectional area.The upper end of the standard 66 is provided with a face the plane ofwhich is at an acute angle with reference to the plane of the uppersurface of the base member 10. Centrally allixed in the upper face 61 isa pin 62 upon which is pivotally mounted a bottle holder 63.

In this last mentioned form of the invention illustrated in FIGURE 12,it will be apparent that the base member 16 may be mounted as abovedescribed whereupon a bottle may be mounted within the holder 63 and thebottle and the holder may then be moved arcuately with respect to thestandard 69, again giving the advantages hereinabove described withreference to the previously mentioned forms of the invention.

While but certain forms of the invention have been shown and describedherein, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art thatmany minor modifications may be made without departing from the spiritof the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A device of the character described comprising a body-gripping basemember, a V-shaped bracket of spring material having one leg centrallyand pivotally affixed atop said base member, and a bottle holder aliixedto the other leg of said bracket.

2. A device of the character described comprising a body-gripping basemember, a V-shaped bracket of spring material, a snap fastener centrallyand pivotally interconnecting one leg of said bracket to said basemember, and a bottle holder allixed to the other leg of said bracket.

3. A device of the character described comprising a body-gripping basemember, a V-snaped bracket of spring material having one leg centrallyand pivotally aifixed atop said base member, and a bottle holder affixedto the other leg of said bracket, said bottle holder being substantiallyhollow cylindrical in shape and having a series of corrugationsextending longitudinally therein.

4. A device of the character described comprising a body-gripping basemember, a V-shaped bracket of Spring material having one leg centrallyand pivotally affixcd atop said base member, and a bottle holder affixedto the other leg of said bracket, said bottle holder being a hollowsplit cylinder.

5. A device of the character described comprising a body-gripping basemember, a V-shaped bracket of spring material, a snap fastener centrallyand pivotally interconnecting one leg of said bracket to said basemember, and a bottle holder afiixed to the other leg of said bracket,said bottle holder being substantially hollow cylindrical in shape andhaving a series of corrugations extending longitudinally there n 6. Adevice of the character described comprising a body-gripping basemember, a V-shaped bracket of spring material, a snap fastener centrallyand pivotally interconnecting one leg of said bracket to said basemember, and a bottle holder ailixed to the other leg of said bracket,said bottle holder being a hollow split cylinder.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,142,729 Rathjen June 8, 1915 1,232,690 Keenan July 10, 1917 1,287,125Smith Dec. 10, 1918 2,366,931 Plain Jan. 9, 1945 7 2,490,158 ReynoldsDec. 6, 1949 2,530,478 Parent Nov. 21, 1950 2,547,818 Gould Apr. 3, 19512,552,844 Clinehens May 15, 1951 2,558,978 Pettit July 3, 1951

1. A DEVICE OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED COMPRISING A BODY-GRIPPING BASEMEMBER, A V-SHAPED BRACKET OF SPRING MATERIAL HAVING ONE LEG CENTRALLYAND PIVOTALLY AFFIXED ATOP SAID BASE MEMBER, AND A BOTTLE HOLDER AFFIXEDTO THE OTHER LEG OF SAID BRACKET.